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Origins: Teri Greeves

Teri Greeves (b. 1970) is a beadwork artist who lives in Santa Fe, NM. She is enrolled in the Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma. Teri follows and updates the Kiowa tradition of beadwork, to tell the story of the American Indian, both contemporary and historical. Her works include beaded books, jewelry, and even high top sneakers! Her work is found in such public collections as the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Museum of Arts and Design, the Brooklyn Museum, the Denver Art Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of Fine Arts of Santa Fe, and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, among others.

Beadworking has been found in cultures all around the world. Early beads were made of shells, seeds, animal teeth, porcupine quills, and other objects found in nature. Kiowa artist Teri Greeves learned beadworking from the women in her family and from others on the Shoshone and Arapaho’s Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Greeves helped her mother in a family-owned trading post where beadworking was honored as a valuable and culturally significant art. Although she has a deep respect for tradition, Greeves opts for “pictorial” work rather than the traditional floral or geometric designs. She depicts stories of the Kiowa people, but from a contemporary perspective. The artist often applies beadwork to modern-day objects such as umbrellas and sneakers.

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Artist Teri Greeves follows and updates the Kiowa tradition of beadwork, to tell the story of the American Indian, both contemporary and historical. Her works include beaded books, jewelry, and even high top sneakers! In this video, Teri Greeves and her mother, Jeri Ah-be-hill, talk about Kiowa leggings and naming outfits.

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Teri Greeves follows and updates the Kiowa tradition of beadwork, to tell the story of the American Indian, both contemporary and historical. Her works include beaded books, jewelry, and even high top sneakers!

Permitted Use:

Stream and Download

Accessibility:

Transcript:

Download:

Beadworking has been found in cultures all around the world. Early beads were made of shells, seeds, animal teeth, porcupine quills, and other objects found in nature. Kiowa artist Teri Greeves learned beadworking from the women in her family and from others on the Shoshone and Arapaho’s Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Greeves helped her mother in a family-owned trading post where beadworking was honored as a valuable and culturally significant art. Although she has a deep respect for tradition, Greeves opts for “pictorial” work rather than the traditional floral or geometric designs. She depicts stories of the Kiowa people, but from a contemporary perspective. The artist often applies beadwork to modern-day objects such as umbrellas and sneakers.